Roger

Thanks Clive! No, all clutch parts are missing. I have the gearbox and the engine (and flywheels) thats it. But I will ask PO (in Stockholm) if he might have the clutch mechanism lying in a box somewhere in his garage. Thanks for your offer, appreciated.

I don't have the cross shaft either. Does this mean that if I cut and weld a cross shaft from a Saloon then I don't need any Dolly Sprint parts?

To my knowledge Dolly Sprint was never sold here in Scandinavia (I have never seen one here at least) so I guess it's e-bay or UK source again. Are these parts rare or hard to find? Any suggestion for supplier? Thanks

Thanks everyone! I feared that your answers would start with "you will need..." 😣I guess I have to put gearbox and engine back and just see what part of the chassie fouls in order to see exactly what I have to do and how to proceed. But as someone mentioned these engines weigh as much as a small planet. I don't look forward to the exercise but at least I will burn some calories. A lot of calories...

I agree John, they are not so difficult to find in the UK. As Johny mention, the problem is the postage sending it to The Aaland Island. I don't know how much it would cost, but probably a fortune. Buying an old engine is also a bit of a lottery. If I have bad luck then the engine can be frozen with tiny cracks not visible but big enough to make the block leak. It would be frustrating to pay a fortune get the engine transported to this remote island, and then later on find out that it can't be used once I have it here. Crack test is a must before I would buy something heavy from the UK!

Hi All, I have the possibility to buy an early Mk I saloon engine to use in my Vitesse Mk I. However, it is an early "small crank bossless" engine which will not fit directly in my Vitesse (engine mounts). But it seems possible to make an adapter to replace the "missing boss" with some welding (given that the threads in the bossless block are in the same position as the threads on "the boss block"?). But if the engine mount threads on a bossless block are in a different position (difference front-back/up-down) then I guess it will be very difficult to make an adapter. Do anyone here know if a bossless block has the threads for the engine mounts in the same position as a Vitesse block (but closer to the block of course). It's a bit difficult to explain, I hope you understand what I'm talking about... Roger

Hi All, Early 1966 Vitesse. I’m desperately trying to find & combine the parts needed to get my Vitesse back on the road again. I was hoping to use an MB engine from a Mk I Saloon combined with the original early HC-gearbox but it was not as straight forward as I thought. My options now is to either modify (shorten) the input shaft om my HC gearbox, or try to use a gearbox from a 2000 Mk II Saloon. The saloon gearbox seems to be a lot bigger than the original Vitesse gearbox and I wonder how much I have to modify my chassie in order to make room for it. I know that there are many Vitesses on the road with both engines and gearbox from a saloon. The clutch and clutch mechanism is missing on my saloon gearbox, but it seems like Chris Witors has most of those items for sale. PO stored this gearbox without oil for decades so there are some surface rust on some of the gears but I think it could be used. Do anyone here have pictures on (or can describe) how you modified your Vitesse chassie when using a Saloon gearbox? Thanks in advance. Roger

No, but I think it is the splines that fouls the clutch, and I'm not sure that shortening the input shaft will solve all my problems. There are so many other uncertain variables also like starter motor, clutch position etc so for the moment I will focus on my 2000 Mk II Saloon engine which I bought together with its gearbox. I know for sure that gearbox will fit! Unfortunately that engine is seized and will need a lot more work than the MB engine I was hoping to use. Great support on this forum, thanks a lot everyone! Roger

I have 3 flywheels to play with: One from the original HC engine (3/8 bolts to crank if I remember, probably needs to be drilled) and one flywheel from a Vitesse Mk II (7/16 bolts) the one I tried to use. I also have a flywheel from a 1974 2,5 PI (MG-prefix). Very heavy indeed... Actually I have a fourth flywheel sitting in a Saloon Mk II engine (still in engine). The MB engine that I try to combine with the HC gerabox did not come with a flywheel. I will take some pictures tomorrow with what I have.

Thanks all for your detailed response! I would of course prefer to find a solution that do not require any cutting in neither input shafts nor chassie. Shortening the input shaft is irreversible, so I have to go through all my options (condition and supply of parts) again and make a decision.

Sorry Colin, daft question: I have been reading your post again and I try to figure out exactly what combination that has lasted 20+ years for you. Did you use an early gearbox "made before HC4500" + large crankshaft (after HC4500) engine + shortened input shaft? Any engine / gearbox numbers you could share from that successful combination? Thanks in advance.

Thanks a lot for all your feedback! This is a complex matter so I think I will have to measure all the parts I have and sit down with pen and paper and do some calculations. Paint on splines was a good tip, will try. I guess the best solution would be to find a later KC-gearbox from a GT6 Mk I or a later Vitesse HC-gearbox (made after HC4500). One of those should hopefully fit without any modifications. An MB-gearbox from a Mk I Saloon could also work, but then I would probably have to cut away parts from the chassie (?). If shortening the shaft (in a lathe) would solve my problems then it is definitely an option. But there are many parameters and dimensions to consider and I want to be 100% sure it works before I take the shaft to a machine shop. Measure twice, cut once... I know there are quite a few Vitesses on the road with both engine and gearbox from a Saloon and that it requires some modification of the chassie to make the gearbox fit (I have the parts, so also an option). I have searched here on the forum and some describe that chassie modification as "major modifications" and others make it seem quite simple. Might be a subject for a new topic, I appreciate if someone have pictures of such a modification. Thanks! /Roger

It might be! But I'm confused since the gearbox fits perfect with no gap to the back plate if I remove both flywheel and clutch and attach only the gearbox to the engine. But when I put the flywheel back then I get that 10 mm gap again. Hence, it must be something with the gearbox / flywheel interfering and not the length of the input shaft??

Thanks, I think my only option now is to either find an MB gearbox or use my Mk II PI engine with the above mentioned MK II Saloon gearbox. But the MB engine I have is in really good condition so finding a new gearbox is definitely my first option. I thought I finally had the parts needed to get my car back on the road. Will it never end... 😞

There is an MB engine + MB gearbox for sale in Sweden. Only 2 hours with a ferry and 400 miles to drive (one-way) and then quaranteene for a week... https://www.blocket.se/annons/skane/triumph_motor_och_vaxellada/92452452

I fully understand the PO's efforts. At this point I'm desperate and I would use any bodge you can recommend no matter how drastic as long as I get my Vitesse back on the road in 2021 using the bits I have...

Thanks Pete, stupid question: I think I know where to find the spigot bush (inside the crank shaft) but what is "stem wheel" spigot?

I think I might have found the problem. A bit difficult to see on the pictures, but the HC crankshaft (blue block) seems to be shorter than the MB version. Bugger! This was my last chance to get my Vitesse on the road in 2021 😣😢

Thanks for your quick response Johny and NM. I should have the cranshaft from the HC engine lying around somewhere, I will see if I can find it and do some measurements. The frustrating thing is that I have several engine blocks / crankshafts but only one decent gearbox, HC585. I have a gearbox from a 2000 Saloon MK II in unknown ukondition, but that will definitely not fit this MB engine unless I can switch gearbox shafts between those gearboxes to make either one of them fit (?). Unlikely I guess...

Good morning Gentlemen, I have spent several evenings in my garage lately (loosing lots of sweat and blood) trying to mate a gearbox from an early 1966 2-Litre Vitesse with an engine from a 2000 Mk I Saloon without success. First I thought that the clutch was not centered properly so I repeated this process several times trying to improve accuracy of the alignment, but still no joy. I can get the splines to connect, but then I always have about 10 mm distance between gearbox and back plate no matter how much I try to push it forward. Then I made a test and removed both clutch and flywheel (which is from a Vitesse Mk II) and then the gearbox fits properly! No gap between gearbox and back plate any more! ("long" spigot bush still in the crank shaft though). I have measured and compared flywheels between my early HC angine and the Vitesse Mk II flywheel but I find no other difference than the bolt size. The only reason for this problem that I can think of now is the crank shaft? Is it a fact that my early 1966 Vitesse gearbox (HC585) is not compatible with my Mk I 2000 Saloon engine crank shaft? Regardless of which flywheel I use? The engine number has been almost completely “erased” by PO but I think I can read MB78380HE with much magnification and imagination. Any advice how to proceed or an explanation why I have this problem would be much appreciated.

Not often we can buy cylinder heads or crank shafts and the quantity is measured in ”pallet of...” Wish I lived in the UK

I got curious how many ”international” members we have here on the forum. In the section ”Browse, Members” we can search the community and if you click ”+More search options” then we can search members ”location”. A quick check shows that we have members from the following countries here on the forum: USA: 10 members France: 11 members Belgium: 7 members Germany: 7 members Austrailia: 11 members The list goes on, and given the fact that most members probably dont bother to fill in the "location" field in their profile there must be many more international members here! Some proper statistics from would be interesting to see. I think there is a huge potential for the club to grow and recruite new members here.

Great initiative, thanks! 👍

Thanks John & Jess for taking the role as International Liaison Secretaries! This forum is such a great benefit for club members not living in the UK. We cannot attend local meetings at the pub, but here we can meet other club members and chat about our cars or get advice. Most car clubs today struggle to survive since members are getting older and it is difficult to recruit new young members. The work done by International Liaison Secretaries is a good opportunity for TSSC to recruit more new members abroad in order to secure long term survival of the club. Thanks for your support for club members living abroad, much appreciated! /Roger

I have never ordered parts from Paddocks before but they do have nice price and stock. But they do not mention which model the part will fit! mkI or mk II? Rimmers has that info for each part. Where I live I do not send wrong parts back. It has to be the correct item the first time